Apart from our Republican-dominated federal government, no single entity boasts more lawsuits against it than Wal-Mart. Class action suits in motion at the moment read like a pamphlet from the nascent worker's rights movements of the early 20th century. They include: gender discrimination, racial discrimination, unpaid wages, exploitation of undocumented workers, pressure to work overtime or off the clock, and denied lunch breaks. And those are just the class action suits.
New York, NY — Millions of disabled and language-minority American citizens face impediments to voting because many states do not meet federal ballot and polling place access requirements, according to a new briefing paper by Demos, a national, non-partisan public policy and research center.
NEWARK, NJ — In an effort to increase voter participation in the Garden State, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey and other high-profile voter rights' advocates, during a public forum today, will urge New Jersey to reform state election law to allow residents in future elections to register to vote up to and including Election Day. This proposal, if adopted, would replacing the current system under which anyone who registers less than 21 days before an election is barred from voting until the following election.
New York, NY — Provisional ballots could again be a leading concern at the polls this year, with new figures showing one in three — more than 650,000 of 2 million cast--were left uncounted or discarded in 2004, according to a new briefing paper by Demos, a national, non-partisan public policy and research center.
New York, NY — Millions of eligible voters could lose their right to vote in coming years if new state and national photo identification and proof of citizenship requirements for voting are implemented, according to a new briefing paper published by Demos, a national public policy and research center. The paper, part of Demos' 2006 Challenges to Fair Elections Series, offers evidence that new and prospective voter ID requirements, in states and on the national level, have been advanced without adequate consideration of facts or the potential impact on voting rights.
Cindy Zeldin, Federal Affairs Coordinator for the Economic Opportunity Program, writes that mega-retailer's abandonment of traditional health insurance in favor of high-deductible health insurance takes the benefits squeeze to a whole new level: it puts a dagger through the heart of the very concept of insurance.
Gen Y is the first generation to really bear the weight of college expenses through loans instead of grants and other financial aid. This, combined with credit card debt, is leaving cash-strapped college grads in bleak financial situations ... often ending in bankruptcy.
New York, NY — Economic Opportunity and a healthy democracy should be central focuses of America's political debate, according to a new policy briefing book published today by Demos: A Network for Ideas & Action, a national, non-partisan public policy, research and advocacy organization.
Americans in their 20s - those broadly defined as ‘Generation Y' - are supposed to be more concerned about weighty issues like world affairs, local politics, and the environment than their ‘Gen X' predecessors. But they've also distinguished themselves another way: They're the most leveraged generation in American history, and they have, for the most part, the cost of their college education to thank for that distinction.
Cleveland, OH —A federal lawsuit filed in Cleveland today charges that Ohio's Secretary of State, Kenneth Blackwell, and the Director of its Department of Job and Family Services (DJFS), Barbara Riley, have violated the rights of thousands of low-income Ohioans by failing to provide voter registration opportunities in public assistance offices as required by the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The NVRA is a federal law enacted 13 years ago to encourage voter registration and turnout in elections.
Cleveland, OH — A federal lawsuit filed in Cleveland today charges that Ohio's Secretary of State, Kenneth Blackwell, and the Director of its Department of Job and Family Services (DJFS), Barbara Riley, have violated the rights of thousands of low-income Ohioans by failing to provide voter registration opportunities in public assistance offices as required by the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The NVRA is a federal law enacted 13 years ago to encourage voter registration and turnout in elections.
New York, NY — Demos, a leading national public policy organization, denounced the passage of the House of Representatives bill (H.R. 4844) also known as the "Federal Election Integrity Act of 2006," which would require all voters to obtain and present government-issued photo ID by 2008, and present proof of citizenship before voting in 2010.
Many college graduates worry about their finances as they begin their professional careers in the red - a place where if they don't get a hold of their debt they may stay for years to come.
New York, NY — Today marks the publication of a groundbreaking new book on the moral landscape of America, THE MORAL CENTER: How We Can Reclaim Our Country from Die-Hard Extremists, Rogue Corporations, Hollywood Hacks, and Pretend Patriots (Harcourt Press, September 11, 2006; ISBN 0-15-101151-6; $24.00), by David Callahan, co-founder and Senior Fellow at Demos, a national public policy organization. In THE MORAL CENTER, Callahan argues that nothing's the matter with Kansas: Americans voting their values are responding to a real moral crisis.
Draut is one of the experts who claims the problem has reached "epidemic" proportions - yet the issue continues to worsen as more and more graduates and young people find themselves drowning in debt.
As more and more young people get in too deep, students, parents, educators and lawmakers are proposing solutions. The seeds of a grassroots activist movement against debt are being sown. But is it too little, too late?
New York, NY — The organizations listed below respectfully submitted public comments today seeking improvements in draft New York State Database Regulations.
For too many grads, though, "the 'debt for diploma' system" makes starting-out responsibility, financially speaking, very difficult, says Draut. The shift from free grants to loans since the early '90s has more than doubled the debt burden of grads who borrow to go to school. That's why it's important to learn to calculate for the real world so you can fulfill the high expectations that motivated you to go to college in the first place.
Draut estimates 25 cents out of every dollar earned by indebted graduates goes to pay off credit cards or loans, for a total debt load of about $20,000 per person.
WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Supreme Court today announced its decision in Randall v. Sorrell, a case addressing the constitutionality of Vermont's comprehensive campaign finance law, passed in 1997.
Stuart Comstock-Gay, Executive Director of the National Voting Rights Institute, which defended the law alongside the state of Vermont, had this statement on the decision.